PACIFIC POST OAK 



(Quercus Garryana) 



DAVID Douglas named this tree the Garry oak, in honor of Nicholas 

 Garry of the Hudson Bay Company, who furnished valuable 

 assistance to botanists and other explorers of early times in the north- 

 western parts of America. This tree is best developed in the neighbor- 

 hood of Puget Sound, the present state of Washington, and at the period 

 of explorations in that region by Douglas, who was a Scotchman, the 

 country was a sort of "no man's land." It was claimed by both England 

 and the United States, and Russia had cast covetous eyes on it as a 

 southern extension of her Alaska holdings. England at that time put a 

 good deal of dependence in the Hudson Bay Company to get possession 

 of and to hold as much country as possible, and Garry's help given to 

 explorers was part of a well-laid plan to possess as much of the north- 

 western country as possible. Douglas doubtless had that in mind when 

 he named the oak in honor of Garry. It was a witness and perpetual 

 reminder that the Hudson Bay Company's strong arms had been 

 stretched in that direction. 



The people in California and Oregon often speak of the tree simply 

 as white oak, but it is sometimes called Oregon white oak, and more 

 often Oregon oak without a qualifying word. When it is spoken of as 

 western white oak, which frequently is the case, it is compared with the 

 well-known eastern white oak. It bears more resemblance to the eastern 

 post oak (Quercus minor) and for that reason it has been named Pacific 

 post oak. The leaves and twigs, particularly when they are young, 

 resemble post oak. 



The northern limit of the tree's range crosses southern British 

 Columbia. It is found in the lower valley of Frazer river and on Van- 

 couver island. It is the only oak tree of British Columbia. Its range 

 extends southward to the Santa Cruz mountains in California, but near 

 the southern limit of its range it is found chiefly in valleys near the coast. 

 It is best developed in western Washington and Oregon. It occurs of 

 good size on dry gravelly slopes of low hills; and it ascends the Cascade 

 mountains to considerable elevations, but becomes stunted and shrubby. 

 It is abundant in northwestern California. 



The tree has a height from sixty to a hundred feet; sometimes it 

 attains a diameter of three and one-half feet. It carries a broad and 

 compact crown, especially when the tree is surrounded by young 

 coniferous growth as is the case in its best habitat where natural pruning 

 gets rid of the lower limbs and causes an outward and later a pendulous 



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